Sills resigned from the Kentucky-based schoollast May shortly after Lyell presented her claims to SBTS President Albert Mohler. In the spring of 2019, Lyell, then a well-respected leader in Christian publishing, decided to publicly disclose that she was a survivor of sexual abuse. By Lyells previous accounts, Sills cultivated a relationship with her. Critics of the SBC investigation and of the existence of a crisis of sexual abuse in the denomination frequently point to Lyells story as questionable, but they have been minority voices. Just over two years later, she stated the allegations to then-LifeWay Senior Vice President Eric Geiger and Mohler. George's resignation was "due to a personal moral failing," Midwestern told the Recorder on June 1. Lyells attorney suggested to Baptist Press that Sills filing the lawsuit in Alabama appeared inappropriate. The Complaint does not hid and it does not disappoint. The audio came to the Capstone Report from a source not connected with Midwest Outreach. So, now the question turns to: Did SBTS President Al Mohler call the police on David Sills as alleged by Lyell? Christian leaders need to remember that they are called to be shepherds in the model of the Good Shepherd, she said, protecting the sheep even if the wolves include their fellow leaders., A woman holds signs about abuse during a rally outside the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex on June 11, 2019, in Birmingham, Ala. RNS photo by Butch Dill. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Jennifer Lyell, 2006 graduate of SBTS, says in her statement that 2004 was the first time Sills acted against her. The article was eventually retracted, but the damage was done. She claims . Scarsella, who also works with a nonprofit that advocates for abuse victims, noted that clergy abusers also often know how to use the theology of sin for their advantage. For example, why did Lyell continue the relationship with the alleged abusers after graduating from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS)? These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Ascol is a Florida pastor who leads Founders Ministries, a group of Southern Baptist Calvinists. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Although the lawsuit was filed in Alabama, David Sills lives in Mississippi. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. What happened instead was a controversy over what kind of relations are consensual and nonconsensual and who gets to make that determination and challenges to the veracity of Lyells account. Of course, Lyell spoke to multiple media outlets and is featured in a new documentary on sex abuse in the SBC. David Sills and Mary Sills contend they have been smeared repeatedly in the process and seek monetary damages. Mohler did that. And these men couldnt even lift a finger when she was defamed and crushed and destroyed. They simply want to push their agenda & cancel anyone who refuses to kowtow to their self-righteous bloviating. ", Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith. So that's not up for renegotiation," he explained. According to Lyell, the reason she waited so long to come forward with her claims is because she was afraid that her coming forward could cause collateral damage impacting people she loved. The audio discussion features Jennifer Lyell speaking to Ron Henzel and Don Veinot of Midwest Outreach. Help keep The Christian Post free for everyone by making a one-time donation today. In May, Guidepost Solutions, which investigated the SBC scandal, issued a report that found alleges survivors of sexual abuse encountered resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility, from some on the SBCs Executive Committee. Lyell sent a statement to both BNG and RNS: I do not need to be under oath to tell the truth and there are no lies that will shake my certainty about what is true. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. And now the two competing narratives of what happened between Sills and Lyell likely will add more fuel to the SBCs internal debate over the nature and extent of sexual abuse as a real problem. Lyell decided to make her allegations public, she said, when she learned that Dr. Sills had been appointed as a missionary with a non-SBC missions agency.. He also said churches often believe survivors were participants in their abusers sins. After several years of dispute, the SBC Executive Committee earlier this year reached a financial settlement with Lyell and issued a public apology for the Baptist Press story. It interwove Lyells story with this discussion. He said it is often easier for churches to blame victims than to look at the way they have empowered abusers. Ascol ran for SBC president on the slogan Change the direction.. Lyell told RNS that at first, she did receive a great deal of support from Southern Baptist leaders when she told them about the abuse she experienced. Lyell, who served as vice president of LifeWay Christian Resources, posted a confession in 2018 claiming how Sills, who has been married for over 30 years, sexually abused her and groomed her. Based on the information we now have I retract any suggestion that Jennifer Lyells physical relationship with David Sills was consensual., By Aug. 3, 2021 about six weeks after the SBC annual meeting at which a Sexual Abuse Task Force was authorized Midwest Christian Outreach issued an update to its post with this note from Henzel: Shortly after this article was published, Jennifer Lyell graciously reached out to us and provided crucial details of her case both to me and to Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc. President Don Veinot. How did Saddleback get kicked out of the SBC? And Christian theology about sin and about the roles of men and women often makes it difficult for survivors who come forward. This article has been updated with a statement from Lyell. In his lawsuit filed Nov. 21, Sills claimed Lyells allegedly false claims were repeated in SBC media as an opportunity to improve the appearance and reputation SBCs handling of abuse cases and made him a bona fide scapegoat.. Although the Sillses live in Mississippi and Lyell lives in Tennessee, the lawsuit was filed in Mobile County Circuit Court because former SBC President Ed Litton, who is among the defendants in the suit, lives in Mobile County and the SBC, the conventions executive committee and other SBC entities own and maintain property, employees and/or agents in Alabama, including Mobile County Alabama, the suit stated. ), We have changed software providers for our subscription database. And recovering from abuse as an adult is a long-term process. I shared how Dr. David Sills, then a tenured professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, first sexually acted against me on a mission trip in 2004, a pattern that continued and escalated for more than a decade following that trip. A clergy person has enormous power. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Rather than seek the truth, defendants repeated and circulated false statements about Dr. Sills, causing him to be cast as a toxic pariah, the brief states. The reason that a professor was able to continue grooming and taking advantage of his student was because I became like part of his family. InterVarsity Press, which published one of Sills' books, removed Sills' biography page from its website and the webpage for Sills book Changing World, Unchanging Mission: Responding to Global Challenges. Sills is also an author. Lyell built a strong relationship with Sills family over the years as she spent many of her weekends and holidays with them. I have never been unwilling to be questioned when making allegations that arent only moral, but are also criminal and Im extremely thankful that all parties who received and investigated my allegations did press me for details necessary to understand what I was alleging given my age and the fact it was not a single occurrence as well as that I did not report anything to them for a very long time.. However, not everyone has believed a sexual abuse crisis exists in the SBC. Based on the credible [Baptist Press report], which I learned of on Friday evening, we suspended inclusion of Sillss book on our site as we did more investigation, InterVarsity Press Publisher Jeff Crosby told CP in an email. The ex-Southern Baptist Convention seminary professor accused of sexual abuse by his former student filed a defamation suit in Alabama against her and several SBC entities, claiming the allegations. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Rest assured, though, that regardless of venue, the case will be vigorously defended.. It also names Jennifer Lyell, a former seminarian and vice president for Lifeway, who has repeatedly alleged that Sills was abusive, an allegation Mohler has also made on social media and in an . Instead, from this news story (with details not included in the Guidepost Report), you can see that the sexual relationship between Jennifer Lyell and David Sills first occurred when Jenn was 26 and David Sills was 49. Because this is a personnel matter, we cannot comment further.. "She relayed to me what had happened to her. It conclusively demonstrated the non-consensual nature of what happened to her. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Our policies and procedures are clear and are consistently applied. After Denhollanders criticism, Baptist Press issued a statement, saying it had failed to convey that the heart of Lyells story was about sexual abuse by a trusted minister in a position of power at a Southern Baptist seminary.. This wasnt by accident; I believe it was by design, Lyell wrote. She graduated from Southern with a master of divinity in 2006 and enrolled in an SBTS doctoral program for one year after that. All rights reserved. They also risk losing their relationships with everybody else who has a relationship with that person because when the chips fall, you dont know how theyre going to fall.. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson thinks he redeemed himself. In a grievance filed Nov. 21 within the Circuit Courtroom of Cell, Alabama, David Sills, a former professor of missions and [] I am not a sinless victim. Sills contends he was made a scapegoat in a denomination reeling from other, larger claims of sexual abuse. That happened three months prior to release of a bombshell report from an independent investigation that found widespread mishandling of known cases of sexual abuse in the SBC and its churches. It takes years and years to recover from trauma, and no one should be in the position of having to explain it to the whole public while theyre still trying to do that, she said. Instead of receiving support and compassion, she found herself trying to convince critics she was not responsible for the abuse she had experienced at the hands of the former professor. She said Southern Baptist leaders do not hesitate to use their public platforms to debate theology or drive culture war issues but rarely call out abusive behavior in their own camp especially if it means correcting other denominational leaders. Sills admitted to engaging in inappropriate sexual activity and tendered his resignation. Guidepost and the SBC are two of 12 total defendants named in the lawsuit that revolves around allegations that David Sills sexually abused Jennifer Lyell starting in 2004, when Lyell was. He unsuccessfully ran for the SBC presidency in June. Jennifer Lyell . 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If I were not to come forward with this [statement], a church or ministry who receives Dr. Sills [resume] and does an internet search for him would have no way to know the truth behind his resignation. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. "Dr. Sills was out of the country traveling internationally. The conventions statement of faith says women and men are equal in Gods sight but have different roles in the church and the home. I now wonder if the only reason that a family relationship was ever presented as an option was to ensure I wouldnt tell what had happened in those first instances.. She challenged those who questioned her motives. Geiger alleged that Mary Sills threatened Jennifer Lyell in text messages and that Mrs. Sills knew of the relationship between Jennifer Lyell and David Sills. Sills files defamation suit against SBC, Lyell, others MOBILE, Ala. (BP) - A former Southern Baptist seminary professor and his wife have filed suit against the SBC and 10 other individuals and entities connected to the SBC, including Jennifer Lyell and Guidepost Solutions. We say that we are not this hierarchy but in reality, we function like we are protecting the barracks of the Vatican, she said. Also at the same time Buck inserted himself into the behind-the-scenes interrogation of Lyell, he maintained a public campaign to identify an alleged leaker of a column written by his wife discussing difficulties in their marriage and in her earlier life. She stated that the pattern continued and escalated for more than a decade following that trip.. A Response to Rachael Denhollander and Others.. But I am a victim nonetheless.. Just over two years later, she stated the allegations to then-LifeWay Senior Vice President Eric Geiger and Mohler. Lyell says Sills, who was a surrogate father figure to her, eventually abused her again and then continued for years, even after she left seminary. He said people often turn to clergy when they are at their most vulnerable. Sills, former professor of missions and cultural anthropology at Southern, did not respond to request for comment. Geiger told Lyell he was responsible to share the allegations with Southern and invited her to participate in the process, Geiger recounted to Baptist Press. She said she was motivated to tell her story following the account of Megan Lively, who was raped by a fellow student at a Southern Baptist seminary in 2003 and then counseled by the president of the seminary to not report the incident to police. Since Mohler made a public comment just a few days ago, surely, he now has an obligation to answer this important question. Her name appears on 37 pages of the report. In June, BP reported Sills also had resigned as president of Reaching and Teaching International Ministries, a missions organization that engages in discipleship and theological education internationally. Who those others were is not clear. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. If the claims in this suit are true, then it would seem that he is as culpable as any of the other defendants., To which Basham replied: Note, Religion News Service reported that Sills admitted to abuse, though Sills told me through an intermediary that RNS also did not reach out to him before that story was published and he never admitted anything like this., Basham also tweeted a link to the BNG story with this comment: Ive read David/Mary Sills filing against SBC, Guidepost, & number of SBC leaders. Pastoral misconduct is seen as a moral failing rather than an abuse of power. If I were not to come forward with this letter, a church or ministry who receives Dr. Sills CV and does an internet search for him would have no way to know the truth behind his resignation, she wrote. The suit was filed in the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Ala., on Monday, Nov. 21. She did not revisit all the details of the abuse but did disclose those details to leaders at Lifeway and then to Al Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where the professor was employed. The hundreds of titles that the Books business team has acquired, developed, or managed under Jennifer's leadership include more than a dozen New York Times bestsellers, as well as CT . 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